An artist’s blog-like canvas of thought and imagery – by Steve Mitchell
I wrote this essay several years ago after overhearing a conversation between two co-workers at a bookstore describing their spiritual beliefs. I was struck by how cavalier their attitudes were in defining truth as whatever seemed best to them. I wrote this essay in the fictitious voice of someone seeking spiritual truth himself and considering how best to find it. Read More
Astronomy has always been sort of a side interest of mine. I’ve actually seen Saturn through my telescope and it is incredible but nothing like this. This is a photo taken by the Cassini Spacecraft currently studying Saturn, its rings, and its moons. The light is coming from the sun at lower right and illuminating the underside of Saturn’s rings which are casting a shadow on the upper part of Saturn itself. God sure can paint!
Look here for more photos and Cassini discoveries. Cool stuff!
Below is a quote from a 1977 documentary film by Francis Schaeffer I’ve been watching. Good stuff! Schaeffer died in 1984 but it is believed that other than C.S. Lewis, few other writers had as much impact on modern philosophical thinking as it relates to Biblical theology. Shaeffer looks like someone straight out of the 17th century with his attire and hairstyle. I couldn’t resist doodling his face while watching the video.
“Humanism invariably ends in despair. If you begin with that which is finite, no matter how far you project it, you can never come to an absolute, never.”
Francis Schaeffer – How Should We Then Live
I was thinking about how life can sometimes seem like being lost at sea. We scan our troubled horizon looking for hope and during the night may even spot a distant light. Excited, we paddle towards it with anticipation. But does that light represent real hope? Not if its a ship passing far away or a distant star low on the horizon or another boat in peril waving their light to bring rescue. We can paddle furiously toward those lights but will just end up in another part of the sea with no rescue at hand and our hope betrayed. How like life; attempting to find hope in passing things or distant dreams or situations and people as desperate as we are.
One night, after a particularly rough week, I read in Psalms 43:5 the simple words “Hope in God” and they seemed at that moment to jump off the page. Hope, in order to be real, must be based on a steadfast source with the authority to guide us – like a lighthouse. Though I often have to remind myself, I depend on God for that kind of hope; the only well-charted, unchangeable, dependable guide to navigate troubled waters and bring me to solid ground. All other hope fails. I thank God for the chart of His word, the beacon of His guidance and the solid ground of His power and protection.
Decided to break out my watercolors and do this quick landscape just for fun. The subject is a bit trite and sentimental but it was more or less a warm up (and it goes with the post). As spring approaches I’m feeling the urge to go out and do some plein air painting which I haven’t done since college.